Once you start talking about things that you are unsure about, sometimes you have to make assumptions. You have to guess at which things are correct and which are not, and come to a conclusion. This is especially true if you are police officer or detective. You need to assume some things are true even if you do not know for sure! This makes it easier for you to make progress on a difficult case.

In other words, you need to make a supposition. What exactly does this mean? How does it work?

Meaning of Supposition

A supposition is an uncertain belief. It should call to mind the verb suppose, from which it is based. As long as it is something that you cannot be 100% sure about, it can be a supposition. Most of the time, however, as long as something is almost definitely the truth, it is assumed to be true rather than a supposition.

For example, in most contexts, you can say that you are sure about your religious beliefs. It does not matter what they are. If you are sure, or at least feel sure about them, they are not suppositions. However, say that you are discussing religion with someone. If they have a different set of beliefs, you may discuss the two different belief systems as two suppositions. (The first person supposes the other person’s beliefs are true, then vice versa.)

In the case of a police investigation, for instance, people may call about someone who is missing. Just because a family member calls does not mean that someone is actually missing. Especially if you do not have other proof of the concept, assuming that someone is missing is a supposition. Along with that, some missing people who have been missing for a long time (let’s say one year) are assumed dead. Maybe the person is actually alive and living well, and the kidnapper gave them a new identity. This is possible, but police will have the supposition that the person is dead and stop the investigation.

Examples

I do not understand the company’s decision at all, but my supposition is that they want to try to force their competition into admitting the mistake.

The task force was working under the supposition that all the drugs were smuggled by a team of young men through this neighborhood.

The supposition was based on faulty information, which led to a huge waste of resources.

Synonyms

Belief

It was the belief that everything would be okay that led my parents to take a chance on immigration.

Notion

The notion that eating more herbs can make you more collected and calm is not supported by science or evidence.

People have all kinds of notions about topics like health and wellness.

Idea

My teacher has many ideas about how classrooms can be best made to support students.

Suspicion

I have always had the suspicion that he was lying to me, but I could never figure out why.

Sometimes, as long as something is reported in the media and raises suspicion among voters, it does not matter whether or not a story is true.

Conjecture

His conjecture about the way the store sets its prices turned out to be right on!

The issue is open to conjecture, but a decision will be made whether or not you guess the reasoning.

Speculation

There has been widespread speculation in the media about where she disappeared to.

Theory

My theory about this book is that it was meant to fulfill someone’s wishes, rather than the author’s own desires.

Many fans of TV shows and books like to discuss possible theories about their characters and worlds online.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the liquids will turn green when they are added together.

You must write down your hypothesis before you do the test so the results you find do not influence you.

Guess

My guess is that teachers who have fewer students will receive more bookings from the operational staff.

Assumption

I do not like to guess, but my assumption is that you have to be a certain height for them to consider you.

Presumption

Do not presume. Your presumptions are almost always flawed in some way.

Adverb clause of concession or supposition

An adverb clause of concession or supposition tells about a situation or action. If you do not know what will happen, you can use a subordinating conjunction to create one of these adverbs. The idea is that they can tell people what will happen given that something else has already happened or is true. You do not know for sure that something will be the case. However, if it does happen, then you can guess what the result will be.

The subordinating conjunctions that you can use include:

• Although
• Though
• Even though
• Even if
• While
• Whereas

Although I do not like to watch movies, I do enjoy the excitement of seeing something in a movie theater.

Though he normally is very conscious of his spending, Mike is okay with splurging with some luxury occasionally!

I think that you should consider moving to Thailand even though you might feel the outside temperature is too hot.

Even if I tried, I am not sure that I would be able to work that much when I already have a full time job.

While it is very nice to have a steady paycheck, having a full time job can limit your freedom.

My little brother really likes to play video games whereas my older brother likes to work out during his free time.

Note that all of these examples have something that is uncertain. It is unclear what things are better or what you should really take note of! But, you can assume that the things that are in the adverbial clause provide a concession – or something that you have to be careful of – to the rest of the sentence.

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